Egyptian MMA Committee Latest to Join IMMAF

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation has officially welcomed the Egyptian MMA Committee as the fifth African organization to join its ranks.

The Egyptian MMA Committee (EMMAC) was formed as democratic, non-profit sport federation under the directive of Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sport and intends to work in line with IMMAF’s Unified Amateur rules and guidelines.

According to a press release, the main objectives of the Egyptian MMA Committee are:

The development, promotion and popularization of MMA in Egypt

Promotion of health and healthy lifestyles through MMA

Increasing the role of sport in personal development, through MMA

Strengthening the position and prestige of MMA internationally through Egyptian athletes

The committee’s founding group has been promoting MMA since April 2010 and, in an unregulated landscape, focused from the outset on establishing professional processes.

The group was also responsible for the first Amateur mixed martial arts events in the country, under the banner of IMMAF Egypt. Despite obstacles, the pioneering work of the team led to a sway of opinion in their country.

“Now the environment is less hostile. Everyone seems to be signing up to MMA,” stated EMMAC President Khaled Abdel Hamid. “We now have Amateur competitors, and those turning Pro. Step by step, IMMAF EGYPT has created champions of MMA. Now, with the help of its members the Egyptian MMA committee intend on establishing regular national competitions in order to send a team the 2016 IMMAF World Championships, as well as to other IMMAF events. We will use our national competition to produce national ranking systems and will put in place processes to provide transparency in the selection of teams.

“I believe that the IMMAF has an essential role in building grassroots, youth and amateur MMA programs worldwide. MMA is an extremely popular professional sport in the media, but the development of the sport cannot go without a structure that extends to the masses.”

About The Author

José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.